Keren Rosenbaum is a choreographic composer, cello performer, interdisciplinary musician and an educator, born in Israel in 1970. She started composing music at the age of seven, and later graduated from the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag, Holland. She is founder of the Reflex Ensemble, a unique collective of classical musicians, jazz musicians and actors, as well as lighting, sound, photography and video artists, all from Israel, Europe, and the US. In her compositions, Rosenbaum employs pre-recorded soundtracks, live electronics, contemporary notation, and her signature conducting-via-earphones technique. While structured and choreographed, the music allows for a degree of freedom that both provides room for personal expression and demands a higher sense of aesthetic responsibility from each performer.
Among her teachers are: Lev Kogan, Arie Shapira Leon Shidlovski, Amnon Walman. From the Royal Conservatory, The Hague: Giljius Van Bergeijk (composition & electronic music), Diderik Wagenaar, Roderik de Man, Clarence Barlow and Louis Andriessen.
After directing and producing "New Voices", the first
interdisciplinary festival in Israel, she founded the body that
would become the main vehicle for her musical and artistic vision
– the Reflex Ensemble, a unique collective of classical musicians
(including players from the Israeli Philharmonic and the Tel Aviv
Opera), jazz musicians and actors, as well as lighting, sound, photography
and video artists, from Israel and Europe.
The ensemble embodies the vision of “the new orchestra”,
which challenges the old-school classical music tradition in its
focus on performance, openness to new technologies, incorporating
lighting and sound artists as equal members, and choosing not to
stage its performances in concert halls.
In her compositions, Rosenbaum employs pre-recorded soundtracks,
live electronics, contemporary notation, and her signature conducting-via-earphones
technique. While structured and choreographed, the music allows
for a degree of freedom that both provides room for personal expression
and demands a higher sense of aesthetical responsibility from each
performer. Rosenbaum tests the ‘prerequisites’ of traditional
harmony and melody, and offers a no less aesthetic alternative,
using strong lines, repetitions and textures, combined with a striking
visual performance.
Rosenbaum’s work with Reflex, as well as with other acclaimed
performers, have established her as a prominent force in the Israeli
and European contemporary music scene. In recent years, Rosenbaum’s
music has been performed by the Czeck Philharmonic Ostrova, the
Israeli contemporary ensemble Musica Nova, the Maarten Altena Ensemble,
and others. In early 2001, Rosenbaum was invited as guest artist
by the renowned "Rijksacademi" in Amsterdam to work on
the video art for her upcoming opera "Chat", scheduled
for 2006 in New York. The same year she was invited to attend the
10th "International Musikwerkstatt 2001", followed by
two performances of her pieces in Berlin. In 2004 Rosenbaum debuted
“Contra Voice” for bass solo and electronic soundtrack,
performed by Swiss bassist Cristin Wildbolz, as part of a worldwide
tour, in collaboration with the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF).
Rosenbaum’s work with Reflex, as well as with other acclaimed
performers, have established her as a prominent force in the Israeli
and European contemporary music scene. In recent years, Rosenbaum’s
music has been performed by the Czeck Philharmonic Ostrova, the
Israeli contemporary ensemble Musica Nova, the Maarten Altena Ensemble,
and others. In early 2001, Rosenbaum was invited as guest artist
by the renowned "Rijksacademi" in Amsterdam to work on
the video art for her upcoming opera "Chat", The same year she was invited to attend the
10th "International Musikwerkstatt 2001", followed by
two performances of her pieces in Berlin. In 2004 Rosenbaum debuted
“Contra Voice” for bass solo and electronic soundtrack,
performed by Swiss bassist Cristin Wildbolz, as part of a worldwide
tour, in collaboration with the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF).
In 2009 her composition Inbetween was published and described as a new notation concept in the book Notation21 by Ms. Theresa Sauer (www.notations21.net). Her work has been presented in exhibitions and concerts both in the US and Europe. Her work is often described both by listeners and performers as "passionately inventive" and "on the edge", with the quality of making one experience deeply and unforgettably the act of the music.
Rosenbaum insists on not being categorized as a composer. She believes music must find a new form of expression to expand the art. Using her Reflex Invisible Score method she creates "interdisciplinary music", a musical expression that incorporates sound, movement, and visual elements.
For the past five years she has been improvising with her cello joined by InkBoat's Shinichi Momo Koga and Cassie Terman, as well as performing with musicians all over the world including Maya Dunietz, Noa Frenkel, Fabienne von Ike & Danny Felsteiner, Ram Gabai, Shahzad Ismaily, Aaron Dugan, Cristin Wildbolz, and many others.
Keren Rosenbaum is currently represented worldwide by
Sorek Artists Management
Den Haag, The Nethelands.T
+ 31 70 3317902
F + 31 70 3317903
e.sorke@planet.nlOther
contact information: Keren
Rosenbaum
Cell: (917) 224-5728
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